The purpose of this chapter is to publish standards of ethical
conduct.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Charter
Township of Huron Code of Ethics."
It is the public policy of this Township that all elected officials,
appointed officers and employees shall construe and implement ethical
standards and guidelines with sincerity, integrity and commitment,
so as to advance the spirit of this chapter, in accordance with the
following guiding principles:
A. Public interest. Township elected officials, appointed officers and
employees are delegated power from the public and are obligated to
exercise that power as trustees of the public. The power and resources
of government services therefore shall be used only to advance the
public interest.
B. Objective judgment. Loyalty to the public interest requires that
all matters shall be decided with independent, objective judgment,
free from avoidable conflicts of interest, improper influences, and
competing loyalties.
C. Accountability. Government affairs shall be conducted in an open,
efficient, fair and honorable manner, which enables citizens to make
informed judgments and to hold elected officials, appointed officers
and employees accountable.
D. Democratic leadership. Township elected officials, appointed officers
and employees shall honor and respect the spirit and principles of
representative democracy and will scrupulously observe the spirit
as well as the letter of the law.
E. Respectfulness. All Township elected officials, appointed officers
and employees shall safeguard public confidence by being honest, fair,
and respectful of all persons and property with whom they have contact,
by maintaining nonpartisanship in all official acts, and by avoiding
conduct which may tend to undermine respect for Township elected officials,
appointed officers and employees and for the Township as an institution.
F. Propose and monitor an ongoing program of education. The Township
elected officials, appointed officers and employees regarding ethical
issues and concerns shall consult and work in cooperation with the
Township's collective bargaining units in the development, implementation,
and evaluation of such ongoing education programs.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings ascribed to them:
BUSINESS
Any agents, agency, petitioner, contractor, vendors, individuals,
contracted person or entities operated for economic gain, whether
professional, industrial or commercial, and whether established to
produce or deal with a product or a service, including but not limited
to entities operated in the form of a corporation, partnership, sole
proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association, organization,
self-employed individual, holding company, joint stock company, receivership,
trust, activity or other entities which is organized for profit.
COMPENSATION
Any payment, money, property, thing of value or benefit received
by any person in return for services rendered.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Either a personal interest or a duty or loyalty to a third
party that competes with or is adverse to a Township elected official's,
appointed officer's or employee's duty to the public interest
in the exercise of official duties or official actions.
GIFT
A.
Anything of value, subscription, advance, payment, forbearance,
rendering or deposit of money, loan of money, goods, or services given
without due consideration.
B.
"Gift" does not include:
(1)
Information-gathering trips paid for by a person or entity seeking
approval of a proposal from a decisionmaking body of the Township,
provided that the decisionmaking body, prior to the trip, makes all
of the following determinations:
(a)
The information will be useful and material;
(b)
The trip will improve and not unduly influence the decisional
process; and
(c)
The decisionmaking body of the Township Board designates the
elected official(s) and/or appointed officer(s) and/or employee(s)
who will participate.
(2)
Small perishable or consumable gifts of a nominal value, and
any reportable campaign contributions pursuant to state law.
IMMEDIATE FAMILY
A spouse of an individual, child or grandchild of an individual
(whether or not the child or grandchild is the natural offspring of
the legal parent or parents and whether or not the child or grandchild
is financially dependent on the parent or parents) or an individual
claimed by that individual or individual's spouse as a dependent
under the Internal Revenue Code, or the parents, parents-in-law, brothers,
sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, stepparents, step-brothers
or stepsisters of an individual wherever residing or any relative
or person sharing the same household.
TOWNSHIP ELECTED OFFICIAL, APPOINTED OFFICER, EMPLOYEE OR AGENT
A person elected, an appointed deputy, appointed persons
to boards and commissions created pursuant to state law and properly
established or created by the Township Board, an at-will contractual
employee, or an employee employed of the governmental body of the
Township, any multi-member body created by ordinance of the Charter
Township of Huron, and quasi-government or independent agencies; and
includes contracted employees acting in a policy-making capacity in
the performance of an official duty or otherwise serving in any capacity
involving the exercise of a public power, trust or duty for the Charter
Township of Huron.
All complaints are strictly confidential. The Clerk shall keep
requests for violation and/or advisory opinions strictly confidential.
All persons alleged to have violated this chapter shall be afforded
due process of law, including notice, the opportunity to be heard,
and the right to representation of their choice.
If probable cause of a violation of this chapter is found valid,
the Township Attorney shall issue the violator a citation and complaint
for civil infraction, and the matter shall be referred to the local
district court for prosecution. The Township Board shall, by separate
resolution, create a fine schedule regarding violations, with fines
not to exceed $500.
This chapter shall be reviewed every three years to evaluate
its operation and to propose any changes needed.
Nothing in this chapter shall be read or implied to supersede
any provision of a collective bargaining agreement in effect on the
effective date of this chapter.